Physical description

Place of Origin

Zhejiang (made)

Date

1400-1499 (made)

Artist/maker

Unknown (maker)

Materials and Techniques

Stoneware covered with a olive green glaze

Dimensions

Length: 5.4 cm

Historical context note

The site of the old trading port of Julfar is situated on the coast a few miles north of Ras al-Khaimah, the capital of the northernmost emirate of the United Arab Emirates. The site itself is a series of low sand hills protected from the sea by an inshore bay and sand spit.

Excavations of the site have been conducted by Dr John Hansman of the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, in 1977. A brief account of the findings "Archaeological Excavations of the Islamic Period in Ras al-Khaimah" has been published in the journal of the Emirates Natural History Group. A review of the history, archaeology and ethnography of Ras al-Khaimah by Capt. Timothy Ash also discusses the site of Julfar.

Findings included a wide range of Chinese blue and white and celadon sherds of the 15th to 17th centuries, sherds of Persian and Middle Eastern origin and examples of the local pottery known as Julfar ware. Also found was a selection of fragments of glass bangles similar to ones currently available in India, together with bronze coins unfortunately too eroded by the saline sand for positive identification.